“Lord, listen to your children praying. Lord, send your spirit in this place. Lord, listen to your children praying. Send us love, send us power, send us grace.” – ELW Hymn #752
I spent many Wednesday evenings during midweek chapel at Augustana College, IL, hearing the hymn above. Played by candlelight, it was a weekly reminder that there are times and places in life that are so overwhelming, all we can do is ask God to hear us and send us what God knows we need. These past weeks have felt like one of those times, if you’ve kept up to any degree with the barrage of news – from the immigration protests across the country, to the ongoing suffering in Gaza and beyond. I once heard a saying that as a person of faith, praying is the greatest thing you can do for someone or something around you – even if the person or thing you are praying for doesn’t believe it will do any good. For people who wholeheartedly believe that God hears and answers us, a prayer is an admission that there are things we cannot handle or solve on our own. All we can do is ask God to help us. If you’re feeling the overwhelm of the world, I invite you to sit and listen, confident that God will give you what you need.
In Peace,
Pastor Eileen
(she/her)